This article does not go far enough: where a selection panel is provided with adverse comment on an applicant by a referee, basic Procedural Fairness considerations - as well as common sense - require that the applicant MUST be given an opportunity to address the issues raised. The Public Service Act's s10A(1) requires a fair process to be followed, as do the Code of Conduct and APS Values.

That aside, if a supervisor has something adverse to say about an applicant, they should have raised it with the applicant in the context of Performance Assessment/Management discussions, or otherwise as a specific concern, in a timely way - adverse evaluations must not be permitted to come as an 'ambush' in a selection process, or go unaddressed, if the selection, the selection process, and the selection panel are to have credibility.